Safaricom will launch its operations in Ethiopia starting August, 2022. The company will start with a consortium that features British development financial agency CDC group and Sumitomo Corporation from Japan.
The Safaricom-led consortium won a license in Ethiopia with a bid worth over $850 in 2021.
The Kenya telecommunications company was expected to launch its services in Ethiopia in April, but the plan was delayed for undisclosed reasons.
When the telecommunication services will be launched in Ethiopia, the first city to benefit will be Dire Dawa, a city that is located in Eastern Ethiopia near the border with Somalia.
In a media briefing held in Adis Ababa on Thursday, Safaricom said, “We will begin our phased launch in August 2022 in Dire Dawa and switch on the network in 24 cities across the country by April 2023.”
The project is expected to generate significant employment opportunities in Ethiopia, while providing crucial telecommunication services across the country.
Safaricom already employees 500 employees in Ethiopia, 320 of whom are Native Ethiopians.